James Douglas, 14th Earl of Morton

James Douglas, 14th Earl of Morton (* 1702 in Edinburgh, † October 12, 1768 in Chiswick, London) was a Scottish peer out of the house Douglas, politician and naturalist, who mainly dealt with astronomy.

Life

Family and early years

James Douglas in 1702, the eldest of the three sons of George Douglas, 13th Earl of Morton (* 1662 † 1738) and his second wife Frances, daughter of William Adderley of Halstow, born in Edinburgh. In 1722 he graduated at King 's College, Cambridge Master of Arts. He then traveled for several years the continent itself to the study of physics Devoting. Its such acquired knowledge made ​​him on his return to Scotland into a well- respected scientists among the Scottish scholar; among these he formed a particularly close friendship with the famous mathematician Colin Maclaurin. He probably has his studies at the University of Edinburgh, meanwhile deepened.

With the death of his father in 1738, he became the 14th Earl of Morton; until then its title as the first heir to the earldom since the death of his unmarried uncle, Robert Douglas, 12th Earl of Morton was in 1730 Lord Aberdour in years. In the same year he was admitted to the exclusive Order of the Thistle. Sir James died in 1668 in Chiswick, and was probably buried in Edinburgh after his body had been there anatomiert by Sir John Pringle. Lord Morton was married twice; from his first marriage to Agatha Halyburton comes his son and successor Charles Sholto Douglas, 15th Earl of Morton (* 1732, † 1774).

Academic career

From 1737 to his death, he was the founding president of natural scientifically oriented society of scholars Society for Improving Arts and Sciences, the predecessor company of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, at whose establishment he had been involved with his friend Maclaurin prevail. He was also in 1763 as the successor to George Parker, 2nd Earl of Macclesfield elected President of the Royal Society of London, which he was a member since 1733. He joined the office after the death of Macclesfield in the following year and held it to his hand up to his death. Likewise, he took Macclesfields place as one of eight foreign members of the Paris Academy of Sciences.

Lord Morton sat as an astronomer and patron of James Cook chosen for the realization of its first South Seas voyage on the Endeavour from 1768, whose purpose should be mainly the observation of an astronomical phenomenon. At Morton's duties as president of the London Royal Sociey then also included the acquisition of the necessary public support.

In addition, Sir James was one of the first managers of the British Museum and has rendered outstanding services as Keeper of Records of Scotland ( keeper of the records ) to the Scottish archives.

Political career

James Douglas in 1739 as the successor of the late Charles Douglas, 2nd Earl of Selkirk to one of the 16 representative peer for Scotland, who were representing the Peerage of Scotland, members of the House of Lords. In Parliament, although he was a partisan of Thomas Pelham Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle -upon- Tyne, but remained his politics opaque. In 1742 he obtained a Act of Parliament, who himself made ​​him the sovereign owner of Orkney and Shetland. However, he sold his rights to the islands soon after due to various difficulties. 1746 he was arrested in Paris and arrested three months of the Bastille. This was justified by lack of personnel documents, but his Jacobite tendencies are suspected as the true reason.

1739 Sir James was appointed Lord of the Bedchamber and 1760 for Lord Clerk Register, the oldest of the remaining highest offices of state of Scotland and was one of the Great Officers of State ( Big government officials ) in Britain.

Interest

• James Cook named to his first South Seas voyage in 1770, the Moreton Bay to Morton, who in 1668 was president of the Royal Society at Cook's departure. The misspelling is due to a clerical error.
• Morton was in his move to Edinburgh between his mansion in Aberdour ( Aberdour House) and build the previous headquarters of the Earl of Morton Aberdour Castle the 12 meter high Aberdour House obelisk to his new residence its approximately 15 km (air line over the Firth of to make Forth ) remote home.